You need to start a giving plan now! Why? Every winter all across the country church services are either cancelled or attendance is greatly curtailed. Snow and cold weather keep even the faithful from attending. My first thought was about all the offering money that was lost. Of course being The Stewardship Coach that was my first thought. However as I sat in my warm office tracking how churches were responding I saw this Facebook post from Pastor Shane Bishop who wrote, “Jan 5 will be remembered in the Midwest as “Blizzard Sunday.” January 12 as “Boy Do We Need a Good Offering Sunday.””

Even if weather was not a factor for you this past Sunday in all probability your first service of the year still showed some lingering effects of the Holiday season. While you might not have been impacted by poor attendance this Sunday sooner or later your giving will be challenged and missions and ministry might have to be cut back. Wise churches don’t sit back when difficulty arises.

The key to giving success is to have a plan. One of the biggest mistakes churches make is not having any plans with regards to stewardship planning. I teach that you have to have a plan and then you must work your plan.

You must develop your plan now! Another huge mistake churches make is waiting until it is too late to do something about their decline in giving. I get all kinds of requests for help during the summer. Why did they wait so late? If Sunday’s offering, the first of the year, was not what you needed it to be what is your plan to make up the shortfall? As I like to say, “Don’t just sit there, do something!”

Here is what Christ Church did when a blizzard forced them to cancel services.

First notice that the sermon was available online. So members could worship. Also notice that they have online giving already set up and they encouraged members to give. All of this was built BEFORE the snow hit. This is a great example of having a plan and working your plan. This post was inserted into their Facebook page well before they knew the offering would be totally lost. They were being proactive not reactive. Plans like this is one reason why since 2006 their giving has increased by over 200%!

It has been my privilege since 2006 to work with Christ Church to see their giving grow. The lessons I have learned from working with them and other top churches in America I am transferring to as many churches as possible in 2014. Now you can get the same help!

About the Author

As the founding partner of The Charis Group, Mark Brooks brings not only a rich background of ministry experience but also years of successfully helping Christian ministries raise funds for capital projects. His desire to better personalize the engagement that each ministry receives from their stewardship partner led him to begin The Charis Group. With creative, outside the box thinking, Mark has helped scores of ministries achieve maximum financial and spiritual results.

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2 Comments

Hi Mark..recently our church board approved the purchase of your training manual fully funding your church for 2014 at a price of $79.99. We gave the order responsibility to our children’s pastor.
Unfortunately, she was involved in a major children’s project for several days and did not place the order. Any possibility to get that manual at this late date? If not, I understand.

James Roberson
Church of the Nazarene
Kingman AZ

Mark BrooksJanuary 23, 2014 at 5:22 am

James, I have forwarded this to our Marketing Director for “Six Weeks to Giving Success.” One thing to consider is that two of the six weeks are past so you would be a bit behind. However it can be adjusted and used for any six week period. I could show you all how to do that. I have one client that is using it later in the year. We pulled down the page that hosts the book for purchase so let me find out what we might be able to do. Email me directly at Mark@TheCharisGroup.org